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Wayne County, West Virginia
Wayne County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,481. Its county seat is Wayne. The county was founded in 1842 and named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvcounties.html Wayne County is part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Charleston-Huntington-Ashland, WV-OH-KY Combined Statistical Area. History Wayne County, West Virginia was originally Wayne County, Virginia, which was created from part of Cabell County in 1842. The county was named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Settlement There was no white settlement in the area that became Wayne County until after 1794 due to the constant threat of Indian attack, who were already present. The area was made safe for white settlement in 1794 through the defeat of the Shawnee at the Battle of Fallen Timbers by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. When the first permanent European settlers came to Wayne County around the year 1800, the area was part of Kanawha County. Most of the original pioneer settlers were self-sufficient farmers. They raised their own food, sheep for wool clothing, and made their buildings, furnishings and tools out of the surrounding forest. A few trading posts provided the manufactured goods the pioneers could not make for themselves. Later, grist mills at Wayne, Dickson, south of East Lynn and at Lavalette ground their corn into meal and their wheat into flour. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. Rivers and Lakes *Ohio River *Big Sandy River *Twelvepole Creek *Beech Fork Lake *East Lynn Lake *Tug Fork Major highways * Interstate 64 * U.S. Highway 52 * U.S. Highway 60 * West Virginia Route 37 * West Virginia Route 152 * West Virginia Route 75 Adjacent counties *Lawrence County, Ohio (north) *Cabell County (northeast) *Lincoln County (east) *Mingo County (southeast) *Martin County, Kentucky (south) *Lawrence County, Kentucky (west) *Boyd County, Kentucky (northwest) Wayne County is one of two US counties (The other being Apache County, Arizona) to border two counties of the same name, neither of which is in the same state as the county itself (Lawrence County, Ohio and Lawrence County, Kentucky). Demographics 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2012 }} As of the census of 2000, there were 42,903 people, 17,239 households, and 12,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile (33/km²). There were 19,107 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.79% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.23% Native Americans, 0.20% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 17,239 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,352, and the median income for a family was $32,458. Males had a median income of $31,554 versus $20,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,906. About 16.20% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.50% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over. Wayne County Railroads *Norfolk Southern Railway's former N&W Kenova District *CSX Transportation's former C&O Kanawha Sub *Kanawha River Terminal Railroad In popular culture The following books take place in Wayne County: *''Last Train to Dunlow'' by Kay and Jack Dickinson. . *''On the Trail of the Powhatan Arrow'' by Kay and Jack Dickinson. ISBN 978-0-9774116-1-0. *''Discovering Lavalette'' by Gina Simmons. ISBN 978-1-4389-8707-1. *''Pioneers, Rebels and Wolves'' by Robert Thompson. *''Climbing Trout's Hill'' by Robert Thompson. *''East Lynn Booming'' by Robert Thompson. . *''Images Of East Lynn'' by Robert Thompson. *''Fear No Man'' by Robert Thompson. *''Aging Wonders'' by Robert Thompson. *''Few Among The Mountains'' by Robert Thompson. Communities Cities and towns *City of Ceredo *Town of Fort Gay *City of Huntington (mostly in Cabell County) *City of Kenova *Town of Wayne Unincorporated communities *Ardel *Armilda *Bethesda *Booton *Bowen *Brabant *Buffalo Creek *Centerville *Coleman *Cove Gap *Crockett *Crum *Cyrus *Dickson *Doane *Dunlow *East Lynn *Echo *Effie *Elmwood *Ferguson *Fleming *Genoa *Gilkerson *Girard *Glenhayes *Grandview Gardens *Hidden Valley *Hubbardstown *Lavalette *Mineral Springs *Missouri Branch *Neal *Nestlow *Oakview Heights *Prichard *Quaker *Radnor *Saltpetre *Shoals *Sidney *Stepptown *Stiltner (defunct) *Stonecoal *Sweet Run *Tripp *Webb *Westmoreland *Wilsondale *Winslow See also *Beech Fork State Park *East Lynn Lake *National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, West Virginia References Category:Counties of West Virginia Category:Wayne County, West Virginia Category:Ohio River counties Category:1842 establishments in the United States Category:Settlements established in 1842 Category:Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metropolitan area Category:Counties of Appalachia